Canada: app launched to help first-time students

Sheridan College in Canada has launched an app designed to make integration onto the campus easier for international students.

The app was launched in May and promoted at pre-departure orientations in India and China.

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About Sara CusterSara is an international education journalist from Oklahoma. She completed her BA in Chicago, taught English in Barcelona and landed in London to be an international student herself completing a master's in international journalism.

“As the start of term draws closer, more and more students are using it"

The app targets first-time international students, offering pre-departure support and information once on campus including how to set up a bank account and grocery shopping.

The app was launched in May and Sheridan promoted it during pre-departure orientation in China and India in July. To date it has been downloaded over 1,100 times for both Android and Apple operating systems.

“We have been extremely pleased with the improvements we’ve seen in student responsiveness and communication, and it’s directly attributable to the use of the app,” said Andrew Ness, director of Sheridan’s International Centre.

“We have been extremely pleased with the improvements we’ve seen in student responsiveness and communication, and it’s directly attributable to the use of the app”

“As the start of term draws closer, more and more students are using it. It’s a key part of our strategy to integrate and acclimatise our new students and is working beautifully.”

The app helps students in the pre-departure process with checklists and airport arrival assistance. After arriving, they’re able to access information on parking rules, campus maps and locating places of worship.

The app is available in several languages and was developed by a former Sheridan international student, Ganesh Neelanjanmat.

Last year, the Toronto-area college hosted 1,500 international students. Ness said he was interested in developing the app in order to streamline the process for the growing number of foreign students coming to Sheridan.

Ness added that the app will become a key part of the institution’s internationalisation strategy. “We plan to customise it so that students from Sheridan who are going on international exchanges will be able to access the information they need as soon as they arrive at their destination,” he said.

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